in California, where the Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to ban encampments for unhoused people near schools and daycare centers, expanding an anti-homeless ordinance to include some 20% of the city. The vote came after a dramatic meeting where two protesters were arrested as they denounced the council’s vote.
The scope of the problem, really quickly — and thank you for having us on this morning, Amy. The scope of the problem is that Los Angeles does not have currently, or never has had, a real housing plan to address the needs of poor Angelenos. It was interesting listening to the last caller. Here in Los Angeles, 120 people exit houselessness every day in Los Angeles, 50% of whom do it on their own, right? Because it’s a matter of rising rents, losing a job. Of that number, 128 people enter houselessness every day in Los Angeles. And so, as you can see, as the homelessness crisis gets worse, there is no reprieve at the end, because there is not a policy to protect people.
What we continue to see in Los Angeles is the march towards criminalization. That is the strategy. And Los Angeles, it’s an anywhere-but-here strategy. It’s an out-of-sight, out
— source democracynow.org | Aug 11, 2022
